Game of Thrones leak – close to 2 million downloads already

Any chance of a slow reveal of the happenings in Westeros and Essos has been well and truly destroyed with four episodes of Game of Thrones fifth season of ten episodes already leaked.

Torrent sites are reporting brisk business with illegal downloads closing in on two million – with the first episode only airing on HBO a couple of days ago.

There’s no specific data about whether the recent Dallas Buyers Club decision has changed the behaviour of local torrenters but it’s a fair bet there are some locals availing themselves to an early peak at the latest episodes.

According to a statement by HBO it’s believed the leak was an inside job that originated within a group approved by HBO to receive the new episodes. The company is “actively assessing” how the breach occurred. One assumes some jobs will be lost and a court case will ensue.

The leak is a significant blow to HBO. Having recently launched their own streaming service to go up against Netflix in the USA, they now face potential losses if the recent pre-release leak of Expendables 3 is anything to go by.